LONDON WOOL SALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 8

LONDON WOOL SALES.

(From Oub Special Cobbespondent.) IK3NDON, July 9. OrENING OF THE FOUBTB SERIES. A SLIGHT DOWNWARD TENDENCY IN MERINOS AND CROSSBREDS. The wool trade lives by its members keeping it going, and as time passes larger numbers are engaged in the work of handling the raw material. This is as it should be, and shows that healthy conditions prevail at the manufacturing end of the industry, just the same as in -the varied countries -where wool is grown. J have now had a life-time in connection with the material, both in its raw and manufactured- state, and it can be truly said that there is as much interest manifest in the course of markets as ever. Tib© opening- of any series of wool sales is the signal for a large number to assemble in Cole man Street Wool Exchange, and last Tuesday quite an army of buyers put in an appearance. No matter what may be the 6t«te of trade, no matter whether xuiditions are good or bad, the usual concourse of buyers assembles from all quarters, and last Tuesday saw a big number of people turn up. I did not find a very strong tone expressed as I went round valuing, and the best that was said was, "things might hold their own." Such a verdict at the best was not a very inspiring one, but one never knows what London is going to do until men get to work and we sco what prices they are prepared to pay. Generally speaking, the various members of the trade confessed to being ready for some -wool, but many acknowledged that they would rather have seen prices remain steady in consuming centres, and the Brisbane sale last Friday maintained the pace indicated at tho sale previous. A GLANCE AT PRICES. I always think the beginning of any series of Biles is an opportune time to take stock for tihe opening is really the dividing line bebi/een one series and another. The couj »c of values during any vacation deterxniniis -practically the course of the raw matjrual, and us a. rule a rise or fall is eohced in London at the beginning of any • series. As is well known, the late interval was exceedingly disappointing,, the new business offering standing out in sharp contrast to what obtained during the previous months of the current year. -After all, nothing better could be expected. It is impossible for any man to go on buying indiscriminately month after month, hence tihe trade done, although disappointing, really made no difference to the shifting of the raw material. Id Bradford, combers, spinners, and manufacturers tvere as busy as «jver they were, and yet prices slightly gati» way. In the following table I show what were quotations for leading descriptions of tops when the May series finished and what they were last Tuesday; and I ako give the price at which they stood at the opening of the July series, 1908: —

CONTINENTAL CONDITIONS. Tie coming to itonAon of a large number ! of \ reach and German buyers has given i one the opportunity of sounding them reepeeCnng trade conditions in their country. ' I find that very similar features characterise their trade to what we see in Yorkshire, j All machinery is going, they have plenty of j orders on their books, and are busy execut- < ing them. As for new business, that is >n ■abeyance. It seems that a large number are ready for buying afresh providing they are satisfied that prices are going to be maintained, but several I have talked to rather favour lower prices. Trade in tops is on a very reduced 6cale, the most interest at Roubaix being entirely confined to Aus- i tralian and Buenos Aires merinos. At the ' same time combers are well supplied with work on orders taken previously. Manufacturers of the batter class dress materials ha-va recently booked considerable orders for plains, while fancies are being bought very cautiously. Indications for. the next summer season point to the continuance of smoothfaced materials, and if that is so, it means wen for fins merinos. Among other classes .-which are said to promise a good sale are coarse Cheviots in plain shades. Futures in tops have ruled extremely dull, and prices arc tending, downwards. AMERICAN CONDITIONS. I was reading the other day a very interesting communication from" the United States, which dealt very minutely' with textile conditions across the Atlantic. Tihe title was a significant one. ""Optimism. '" [After dilating upon mills having "orders in •hand for as great a distance ahead as they | care to aoospt them,"' the writer went on to j *ell us, "bur it is not so much the manu- j factoring situation as it is the buying end which causes general optimism regarding the ifutuTe. It may bo claimed that the operations of certain buyers during the last few | onohths have been in a sense speculative. ' IWhU© this 6eema capable of proof witli Tegard to a very small minority of dry goods buyers, yet to more than offset euch a. condition is the status of the overwhelming majority who have been living from Jiand to mouth for a long time. Take the general view of dT7 goods jobbers: they have by no means supplied themselves with sufficient to last during the fall season. It S« fully expected that when they begun to snake shipments of (all merchandise they !will begin to J-eaiiae the depleted conditions tof their stoots and will come into tihe market for liberal quantities. Advance (business with the retailor has been, fully up 4*> normal, and with the enlargement in buying capacity by the masses the purchases lover the counter must necessarily increase." JUST A DECENT OPENING. Last Tuesday saw the opening of the fourth series of sales, but nothing very ■tartling can bo chronicled in connection liritih the same. The three catalogues cub- ' ■nitted were distinctly disappointing, there being hardly a decent lot of merinos offered. Fullj three-fourths of the wools consisted of very ordinary crossbreds, and i considering all things the initial sitting !

r stood the test very well. All buyers alike confessed to being a Little sceptical as to what the results -were going to be, but on the whole competition torned out fully as good -as I .ever expected, thougih at times there was considerable reserve shown. Home tra>4e was in evidence through the . whole sitting, the orossbreds baing best suited for Bradford topmakera. Some fair weights of shabby merinos only fit for oar- ■ bonising were takes for Germany. Very fine Sydney scoured skin wools rather hung fire. The competition on the whole was good, thougih at times when the New Zealand slipes were being- offered things rather dragged. Speculators' wools, which were very heavily limited, also had to ,be tafcen in on several occasions, but straight lots i sold readily and well. CHANGES SEEN. When compared with the average of May closing rates, the following changes took plaoe : — Grease cons/bing merinos About par. „ clothing „ id to Jd lower. „ faulty „ Jd to Jd lower. Scoured combing „ £d lower. „ clothing „ id lower. „ faulty „ id io id lower. Grease fine crossbreds No change. „ medium crossbreds, good style No change. „ medium crossbreds, ordinary Jd lower. „ coarse orossbreds, ordinary id lower. Sliped crossbreds (all descriptions) Jd to id low«r. Cape grease comfbing Par to Jd lomer. „ snow whites Par. Punta Arenas crossbreds id to Jd lower._ The general impression at the close was that, considering- the shabby offerings, the sale had passed off well. America had come into the ' market in a most liberal way, and exceeded the expectations of the majority. Many felt that with a better show of wools we should be back at the close of the May rates for all good combing merinos and crossbreda. The wools most difficult to move were the shabbiest. Wednesday's sale brought out a decidedly better show, and -it at onoe tempted m-en to do their best Many buyera on Tuesday were simply feeling 'their way, but when they saw how things shaped it was the signal to "pan" .to, and value and- bid/ as if they meant business. The- second day's sale brought 'out a nice lot of good, shafty wools from the Riverina district «of New South Wales, as well as somo nice lines of greasy Queensland "new clip," and this "fetched" the trado. The extreme rates of last May no longer obtain, but on the whole th«re is not much ,to grumble at. Crossbreds are going off readily. Shabby scoureds are tihe turn cheaper. THE OUTLOOK. Messrs H. Dawsoa and Co., in speaking about the outlook, say: "The past interval : has been marked by dulnese ,in most of the European wool oentres. New business has been very and it is not surprising , that a slight shrinkage in values ha® to be recorded in some classes of tops. It baa been, ihowe\er, a natural and healthy pause; a breathing tim© was necessary, for the pace had been sufficiently quick. Nevertheless, there is as yet no easing of consumption, mills are fully engaged, and concessions on future; business are not readily entertained. It has to be rememberedj ; however, that the bulk of the present de- , liveries are being- made on transactions . which were negotiated <at lower prices, and j new business is face to face with a considerably higher level of values. . j "In U.S.A. the prospects are still most satisfactory. Large transactions were oar- • i ried through during the former half of the ! j interval, and, thanks to the continued call ' for worsted goods, consumption of raw > wool is proceeding at a rate quite unpre- , cedented in that country. It i« a good sign ! that there is a fair representation of buyers } present at this aeries, despite the heavy purchasings of March and May. Considerable extensions are being mauds throughout the industry in tihe States, and this, of | course, presupposes an increased consumption of- wool if all goes well. It is evident from many signs that U.S.A. is destined to becorna a larger operator in the future in Australasian wools. j "The completed figures which Messrs Dal- . gety and Co. fui*nish of the Australasian | shipments up to June 30 enable the trade j to gauge the supplies for the remainder of ' the year. La-st year's figures did not correct!^ show the season's actual production, owing- to wools being hold back beyond June 30. This year the old clip has been practically cleared out of the colonies, and for correct comparison as io increased production it is better to take 1907 figures, ! which show that there is an increase of production in two years of about 198,000 bales, of which 65,000 bales are from New Zealand. It is extremely gratifying io . realise how easily thie has been absorbed, j and it is a tribute to the soundness and i 'stability of the industry. Of course, so ' long as the call continues for worsted goods , the absorption is well assured, and the i augmented supplies need furnish no immc- ' diate ground for anxiety. | "Meanwhile, it is satisfactory to know j that there is a cautious spirit everywhere ! manifested. In many quarters prices are , not trusted, and there is a disposition to [ run risks in selling rather than .in buying. It is not a disadvantage that the rapid advances of previous 6ales should receive a check, but at present, there is little to encourage those who are hoping for a materially lower level of valuee. The visible supplies are,_of course, an striking contrast to those of 12 month, ago, but they do not ' furnish the safest criterion ; moreover, the , higher values of this season, if maintained, cannot encourage consumption to the 6ame extent as last year. The prices paid in the Brisbane and Sydney sales are, however, a ' ?air indication that new business on the ' Continent is still available at a. level but • slightly removed from the highest of the I year." j

July 14, May 21, July 6, 1908. 1909. 1909, d. d. d. 70's Colonial tops . .. 24S . 23. £&k . B*'» „ ' „ .. 24" 28 27* *>'» „ „ .... „23 37 26J 66'g „ , 18J 22 21* W'b „ „ „. .. 15| 18J 18i «« f 8 „ „ ... 12J I4i 14 4O 's „ „ ... 102 13 12| 3 6 '" -, „ .. .' 10 12 11} 32>s •. -, . .. 9| 11 10j 64's Cape tops 23J 27 26.\ 60's Buenos Aires tops 2l| 28 25J